Nepal votes in less than a month’s time. With festivities overshadowing everything else during Dashain, Tihar (Dipawali) and Chhath celebrations, the mood of the nation in general seems to be joyous.
The timing of the approaching elections is slipped so aptly into the season of celebrations that the preparations for it, or lack of it, may well go unnoticed by the majority. [break]
Elections are no less than festivals. For a democracy, they should be. In fact, as an occasion when power is transferred from the people to their chosen ones, it should attain a religiosity of its own.
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And, we should celebrate the evolution of mankind into a species of ‘moral collective self-rulers’ guided by a social contract approved by majority. However, around here, the festival like fervor that elections have gained are all for the wrong reasons.
South Asia is known for a culture of cluttered politics. And like our festivals, our political practices, and hence, election processes, are intertwined, often trespassing borders. At the ground level, this link has manifested into some visible signs, the most obvious of them being the use of Indian vehicles for election campaigns. In other covert forms, this entanglement has much deeper implications. Often, it results in dangerous meddling in the process of a ‘free and fair’ election itself.
When the political leaders of Nepal resort to euphemism over who shot and killed Mahamud Alam, they exhibit helplessness, unacceptable for a sovereign democratic nation. The UML candidate from Bara district was shot a day after he filed his nomination. Like in many past instances, investigations are not likely to take place. Attributing the crime to ‘an international criminal organization’ is mere wordplay to deny the deep rooted evil of violent practices within the political system.
It is an open secret that the political market is flooded with Indian weapons. But illegally obtained arms are not the only concern during elections. In Bhutan earlier this year, an election was held under dramatic conditions.
Days before the election, a letter from Delhi informed Thimphu that the subsidy on gas that India had been granting was removed. Prices skyrocketed across Bhutan. It heated up the political scenario: bitter relations of the then prime minister Jigme Y Thinley with India became the bone of contention, and he lost the election. The subsidies were re-granted immediately after that.
Jigme Y Thinley had tried to widen Bhutan’s diplomatic contacts with nations other than India throughout his tenure. He had held a meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister during the Rio +20 summit in June last year.
After the second election, his absolute majority of 45 out of 47 seats in the first parliament of Bhutan tumbled to a weak minority of 15 seats. His opponent Tobgay Tshering—known to be more amiable to the south—became the prime minister.
Indian intelligentsia widely criticized this not-so-subtle meddling by the Indian establishment in neighborhood politics. The government tried hoodwinking Indian people by attributing the decision on subsidy to an over-eager bureaucrat’s misinterpretation of government’s directive. Quite unconvincingly.
Infected with the vestiges of colonial geo-political strategizing, the ‘Chanakyas’ of present day India still think of the Himalayas as their security border. Hence, Nepal and Bhutan are seen as part of this overall strategic umbrella. So, it comes logically to them to react and resist any effort in reshaping the balance of influence within that sphere. And they don’t quite see that we can make out what the fuss is actually about.
There is a major folly in this ‘strategic’ line of thought directly drawn from the Russian threat to the British Empire. And that lies in its antiquity. Without even a proactive effort to reshape the equation, one can feel the balance shifting towards a new equilibrium in the shadows of the Himalayas.
Thousands of Chinese tourists flock to the streets of Kathmandu today. They are, in fact, more visible than the Indians, and are a major source of sustenance for Nepal’s tourism industry during the traditional ‘off season’. Nepali students in thousands are in China. This exchange between people is already bridging the gaps. With technology at hand, Himalayas can no longer be a barrier for communication and cultural exchanges.
Himalayas are, however, a great physical barrier. The resultant economic dependency gives India an undeniable leverage in Nepal. The political class fears that with India’s history of not hesitating in flaunting its leverage, rather using it openly—as proved by economic embargo of 1990-91 on Nepal and recent Bhutan incident—it will continue to be a decisive influence in the internal political dynamics of its two land-locked neighbors.
Till the time public opinion on this issue within India is strong enough to affect politics, there is no compulsion on India to behave otherwise. Hence, major political actors of Nepal have come to an understanding with India. Radical calls for national sovereignty have mellowed down to avoid causing a neighborly annoyance.
With insurmountable leverage, India gets a free run in Nepali political affairs. The political culture within Nepal makes it worse. Thinking of a ‘free and fair’ election will be naïve under these circumstances.
Aiming at a resurgence of the system is in the long term interest of democracy and freedom in the region. The only hope rests on massive awareness programs targeting the common people.
Restoring public confidence in the process of Democracy will also enable political parties to withstand external pressure. The leaders, in turn, should stop buckling down over petty self interests. Reaching for a common ground on foreign policy across divisive party politics would be a start. Political parties should make it clear that external meddling in internal politics is a ‘no tolerance zone’, whatever may be their ideological base.
The author is a freelance journalist based in Kathmandu
dinkar.nepal@yahoo.com
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